


The things we do for love

by Miss_Kitten



Category: The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, mention of injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 12:23:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10719291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Kitten/pseuds/Miss_Kitten
Summary: Reader gets hurt during a battle and Aragorn takes nursing her back to health upon himself.





	The things we do for love

It was happening too fast. It was way too intense for you to fathom precisely and with every detail what had transpired.

You were hurt, that was for sure. The burning, sickening pain in your stomach was too vivid for it to not be real. The world around you was spinning fast, the noises coming as though through a thick blanket. Then, you felt as if you were drowning. The sense of reality, of being in a place had left you and you collapsed heavily on the ground, Legolas’ golden locks the last thing your eyes managed to catch before you gave in to the darkness.

______

There is a fire blazing in your guts but you can do nothing to stop it. Your hands are not _yours_ because they do not move when you order them to. Your eyes are not _yours_ for they do not open upon your demand.

You do not belong to _yourself_. How can you when everything you are built of is a scorching, head-spinning ache? It starts in your belly, yet by now it crept into every cell, every fiber of your body.

“Do not move, Y/N,” a voice sooths gently but do not recognize who is speaking. You cannot think of anything else than unparalleled, unimaginable agony that has taken over your body and mind.

“I will care for you, I will heal you. I promise you that,” the voice assures and somewhere in your mind, a tiny flicker of hope lights up.

Yet, you cannot hold onto it. Once again, you welcome the comforting unconsciousness.

______

_“You need to prepare that she might not survive.”_

_“She will, I know it. I must hope. I must try. If the hands of a king are the hands of a healer, than we shall see what a king I truly am.”_

_“You are very stubborn, my friend.”_

_“Gandalf, I cannot give her up, not when she was by my side throughout that journey. Not when she risked her life for all of us.”_

_“Yet you said nothing-“_

_“And I won’t say a thing until Y/N’s well. How is Frodo?”_

_“Lord Elrond has been personally tending to him, and I do believe our hobbit will soon be in a good health again.”_

_“That’s a good news, a very good news…”_

_“If I may add-“_

_“I have already heard it, Gandalf. You don’t have to repeat yourself.”_

_“If you say so, dear friend. One would think, three simple words, when apart so very easy to say, when together – that’s a different story, isn’t it?”_

_“It’s not a time for that, not now. She has to be aware, has to hear…”_

______

_“Mister Strider, can she hear me?”_

_“I’m not sure, Sam, but you can speak. Maybe you can wake her up, who knows?”_

_“What should I say?”_

_“Whatever you wish to.”_

_“W-what are you doing?!”_

_“I must change the dressings. Speak to her, it’s calming her.”_

_“M-miss Y/N, it’s me, Samwise Gamgee. I know it is much to ask, but could you maybe consider returning to us sooner? We all miss you a lot, and Merry cannot wait to hug you!”_

_“Oh, can he now?”_

_“Don’t tell him I told that! He’s afraid you’d smack him if you found out.”_

_“Why would I ever do that, Sam?”_

_“Well, uhm… you don’t leave her bedside. It does show how much y-you care about her.”_

_“I do, yes.”_

_“Did you hear that, Y/N? Mister Strider, too, wants you to be with us!”_

_“My dear Sam, you cannot imagine how much I wish for her to be back.”_

_“I miss her, to be frank. The War is over and the Ring is destroyed, times are better. Yet without miss Y/N, I just can’t seem to be fully happy. Do you understand, mister Strider?”_

_“I do, Sam. And how many times should I tell you to call me by my name?”_

_“Yes, apologies. Is her wound healing?”_

_“Slowly, but it does. I do my best, but we need time.”_

_“I just hope she’ll wake up sooner than later.”_

_“I hope so, too, Sam.”_

________

_“You need rest.”_

_“I don’t. Not until she’s awake.”_

_“How long have you been staying by her side?”_

_“A week or so?”_

_“Have you eaten anything?”_

_“Yes, Sam brought me plenty.”_

_“She does look better. Less pale. Did the bleeding stop?”_

_“Yes, two days ago.”_

_“You’re healing her, Aragorn.”_

_“I hope it’s true, Legolas, I hope she’s healing because of me. That’s the least I can do to repay. On the battlefield, when she’s got hurt – she was saving me. I know that. I would have-“_

_“But you have not. And trust me on this – the sooner you tell her, the quicker she opens her eyes.”_

_“Why is everyone convincing me to speak of my feelings? My hands can heal, not my words.”_

_“Oh, my friend, have you not learnt by now that words can mend what hands cannot? That maybe it is what Y/N is waiting for?”_

_“I-I don’t-“_

_“Are you certain of what your heart wants?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“Then what are you waiting for, you fool?”_

_____

It seems as if everything you feel, everything you hear and experience is only but a dream. It feels like you are dreaming, or your mind decided to flood you with imaginary events to somehow deal with inevitable end.

Yet, it also seems real. You are finally able to move your limbs. Only a bit, a tiny fidget of your finger but you do it.

And it makes Aragorn freeze in place. He is kneeling by the bed you’re lying on, his hands sunk in a bowl with water, his eyes never leaving you.

“Y/N?” he whispers, sure that what he saw was nothing but a fantasy, an imagine produced by his tired mind.

So, you do it again.

“Y/N, do you hear me?”

Unable to form any words, you only make a tiny noise – a breathy moan, barely audible. You hear a shuffling, and a voice comes from somewhere closer now. Aragorn strokes the top of your palm tenderly, a gesture that would surely ignite shivers if you could feel anything more than dull ache.

“You were hit by one of Uruk-hai. The wound was not big or deep, the blade was poisoned and that’s why you were suffering so much. I do hope you’re better now, I did my best…”

“Y/N, please, can you try and open your eyes for me?”

You summon all your strength and order heavy eyelids to lift. They do, slowly and you blink few times to adjust to the light. It is not bright – few candles are lit in otherwise dark room.

You slide your head to the side and your gaze focused on Aragorn – he looks as if he hasn’t slept in ages; his skin is pale, his eyes however shine brightly with relief and warmth.

“I thought I’d lost you…” he pants and carefully moves his hand to cup your face. You clear your throat but it doesn’t help much with harshness you feel in it.  

“How long was I asleep?” you mutter, your voice coarse.

“Ten days.”

“What did I miss?”

“Nothing. Only hobbits’ antics around Gondor, and an engagement between Éowyn and Faramir.”

“You have not-?”

“No, the coronation was delayed.”

“Why? Were you hurt?” you feel a wave of panic running through you and you make to rise in the bed but your body protests with a jolt of gut-wrenching pain.

You hiss and Aragorn lays a hand on your middle to keep you in place.

“Don’t move, it’s barely healed. Few more days and I’ll let you try to stand up.”

“ _You_ will let me?” you quirk an eyebrow and force your lips to smirk. Aragorn cackles airily and strokes your cheek with his thumb.

“I’m your healer, you should listen to me, Y/N.”

“Can I have some water? My throat feels as if it’s full of dirt.”

“Of course,” Aragorn takes his hands off of you and reaches to a stand, taking a glass of water from there and  carefully bringing it  to your lips. You sip a bit, deciding that it is, by far, the best drink you have ever had.

Aragorn keeps his eyes on you, ready to act by whatever you’d ask him to. Debating with yourself whether you should bring up a thing that, most likely, was your dream, you grimace.

“Are you in pain?” he asks, his voice hinted with fear and concern and you shake your head.

“No, I… was Sam here while I was not conscious?”

“Yes, he did visit you. Do you remember it?”

“It appears so. Gandalf was here, too?”

“He was, yes.”

“And Legolas?”

“Yes,” Aragorn nods his head, his brows knitting over his nose as a realization dawns on him.

“Why did he call you a fool?”

“Because I am one. Legolas was only honest with me. As well as Gandalf. I should’ve said it sooner, Y/N, maybe you wouldn’t be so stupidly brave.”

“Oh, now I’m a fool, too?” you tease, curling your lips into a smile and Aragorn grimaces, closing his eyes for a moment.

“That’s not what I meant to say.”

“Then say what you mean,” you encourage, reaching for his hand and taking it in yours, and Aragorn inhales deeply before he whispers,

“I love you, Y/N. I have loved you since I laid my eyes on you, a long time ago, yet I was a coward. I feared you’d reject me. I feared you’d be scared of my heritage. And yet, you promptly agreed to join the Fellowship and share that hardship with me.”

“I couldn’t let you go, Aragorn. I thought I’d build up courage to confess my feelings but I only learnt that I was not as bold as I believed.”

“Do you-?”

“I love you, you fool. You think that why I faced that monster before it could get to you?”

“Never do that again,” he breaths out, leaning in to rub his nose against yours and you close your eyes to savor every second of that moment.

“Promise me, Y/N, to never try and save my life again, do you hear me?”

“I promise, I promise. Now, kiss me before I pass out.”


End file.
